A devil to play
one man's year-long quest to master the orchestra's most difficult instrument
1st ed.
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Word Count
81,000 words, Guess
Page Count
324 pages
Identifiers
- Open LibraryOL16856607M
- Internet Archivedeviltoplayonema00rees
- ISBN-100061626619
- ISBN-139780061626616
- LibraryThing6662576
and 4 more
- Goodreads5073647
- Library of Congress Control Number2008019201
- OCLC Control Number191930143
- Better World Books9780061626616
Classifications
- DDC788.9/4092
- DDCB
- LCCML419.R4 A3 2008
and 1 more
- LCCML419.R4A3 2008
Description
In the days before his fortieth birthday, London-based journalist Jasper Rees trades his pen for a French horn that has been gathering dust in the attic for more than twenty-two years, and, on a lark, plays it at the annual festival of the British Horn Society.Despite an embarrassingly poor performance, the experience inspires Rees to embark on a daunting, bizarre, and ultimately winning journey: to return to the festival in one year's time and play a Mozart concerto — solo — to a large paying audience.A Devil to Play is the true story of an unlikely midlife crisis spent conquering sixteen feet of wrapped brass tubing widely regarded as the most difficult instrument to master, as well as the most treacherous to play in public. It is the history of man's first musical instrument, a compelling journey that moves from the walls of Jericho to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, from the hunting fields of France to the heart of Hollywood. And it is the account of one man's mounting musical obsession, told with pitch-perfect wit and an undeniable charm — an endearing, inspiring tale of perseverance and achievement, relayed masterfully, one side-splittingly off-key note at a time.
Description
Jasper Rees tells why he took up the French horn again at the age of 39-and-three-quarters and persevered to play in front of a packed London auditorium and perform a Mozart concerto on this notoriously treacherous instrument. He also relates the story of man's first musical instrument, and its journey from the walls of Jericho to Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, from the hunting fields of aristocratic France to the heart of Hollywood.
Subjects
Topics
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People
Genres
- Biography
Other Editions
- A devil to play: one man's year-long quest to master the orchestra's most difficult instrument
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